Photograph of Manhattanville by Mira (on the wall) on Flickr Unsurprisingly, the state agency the oversees development declared a 17-acre area eyed by Columbia University was "blighted", opening the door for the state to use eminent domain to seize properties for Columbia's grand Manhattanville expansion plan. The school owns most of the 17 acres, but there are still a few holdouts who are promising go to court over the matter. A lawyer for the......

A new photography exhibit examining the shifting views of public and private space, Eminent Domain, opens today at the New York Public Library. Five photographers' recent projects "deal with the life of the city in terms of passage (of seasons and time, people and place) and exchange (between individual and collective, interior and exterior)." Thomas Holton photographed one family in Chinatown for two years, (photographs taken by the children are also included). Bettina Johae......

Photo via Minicloud's Flickr. As mentioned late last year, Flux Factory (LIC's beloved art space) is being forced out of their home under eminent domain to make way for the MTA's $6.3 billion East Side Access project. They report on their (hopefully temporary) end online:Now it must all be destroyed. Our entire block will be razed by the pitiless bulldozers of the MTA. Everything Must Go. Alas, such is the fate of all terrestrial......

The abrupt elevation of Lieutenant Governor David Paterson to the top seat in NY State government should mix things up a bit in Albany and NYC. First up is the state budget, and with a grim economic outlook and behind-the-scenes transitions, he said yesterday, “We cannot afford to waste another second. We have a budget that is due and a deadline to meet.” Paterson added he would attempt to govern by consensus, rather than take......